With such marriages now legal in both the District of Columbia and Maryland—the two regions covered by the diocese, the Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, who’s the Episcopal bishop of Washington—decided in December to expand the marriage sacrament as allowed under a “local option” granted by the Episcopal church’s General Convention.

Citing the National Cathedral’s public visibility, the cathedral’s dean, the Very Rev. Gary Hall, said “we are really trying to take the next step for marriage equality in the nation and in the culture.”

Speaking of: Both Illinois and Rhode Island will soon consider legalizing same-sex marriage, and the Supreme Court will hear two pivotal cases on the issue in March.

Chris Wade is a New York-based video and audio producer and an occasional contributor to Brow Beat.